This is my response to the Daily Prompt:
Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often?
My title comes from a hit I remember hearing on the radio as a child way back in 1966; Old Man Trouble by Doc Carroll in Ireland, which had been a hit two years earlier by Fats Domino in the United States. I don’t know why the tune is so jolly 😀.
Who’s that knocking on my door, old man trouble.
I know that you’ve been here before, old man trouble.
But the quote I really have in mind is by Jesus:
John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
I focus on the part where he says, “In this world you will have trouble.” Maybe he’s speaking of the persecution to come. However, maybe he’s also ensuring that they have realistic expectations about their lives in this world. The Messiah has finally come. Is life from here on going to be perfect? No!
What does he mean when he says, I have overcome the world? The life of Jesus wasn’t easy and the following day, Jesus was going to be crucified. But Jesus was looking to what would happen soon after. He would rise from the dead, never to suffer or die again. So it’s not that we’ll have no trouble in this world. But if we believe in Jesus, we are united with him, and where he goes, we go. That’s why we can have a sense of peace and can be comforted in our fear. Again, it doesn’t mean that we are free of distress, but we can find comfort in our distress. Suppose you need to take a driving test and by some miracle, you are told that you will inevitably pass. Well, it still mightn’t be much fun, but the happy outcome will make a difference. And believing in Jesus means that the outcome through all the troubles of this life will be a happy one. Jesus has passed the test for us!
John 5:24
Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
Hibernia Gospel 